EARLY AFRICAN PASTORALISM - VIEW FROM DAKHLEH OASIS (SOUTH CENTRAL EGYPT)

The late prehistoric archaeological sequence from Dakhleh Oasis, South Central Egypt, is examined for evidence on the origins and developmen t of pastoralism in northeastern Africa, under the dry but fluctuating environmental conditions of the early to mid-Holocene. Around 8800 B. P., relatively sedentary groups of the Masara cultural unit have a bro ad-based subsistence system but no sign of food production. Herding ap pears ca. 7000 B.P., at a time of increased and possibly less seasonal rainfall, on large late Bashendi A sites with stone-built structures and a still-diversified food economy. With the drying trend after 6500 B.P., mobile Bashendi B cattle and goat herders continue to aggregate in the oasis for a millennium, still utilizing a variety of resources . More settled Sheikh Muftah groups occupy the oasis lowlands until Ol d Kingdom times. Throughout the sequence, the early pastoralism of Dak hleh seems more African than West Asian in character. (C) 1998 Academi c Press.